


Who

by NarryEm



Series: Psychological Thrillers [3]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Graphic Description of Corpses, M/M, Minor Character Death, Murder Mystery, Psychological Drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-14
Updated: 2015-04-14
Packaged: 2018-03-22 20:16:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3742255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NarryEm/pseuds/NarryEm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s simple. A dead body, four guys. One killer. Oh, and none of them are allowed out until someone figures out who the killer is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Who

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been watching too many Korean TV shows when I should have been studying and this is the result. The format is similar to a show called Crime Scene in which 6-7 players role-play the suspects and vote on who they think the real killer is. Obviously this is darker than that because that's how I roll.

“What is this?” Louis scoffs at the script that his manager hands him.

“Some idea for a new telly show,” his manager answers.

With a dramatic sigh—he is an actor after all—he snatches the thing and skims over it. The premise of the show, _Suspect_ , is that the cast members stumble onto a crime scene on set and they have to figure out who picked out the role of the murderer, and the roles change every episode. It sounds intriguing so he books a meeting with the producers mostly to kill time. Now that he has wrapped up a movie last week, his schedule is pretty empty.

“Acting as the killer in each episode and then voting on the criminal as suspects?” Louis mutters to himself. On the last page, the writers and producers have scribbled in other possible cast members and the names are well-known in the entertainment industry.

This should be fun.

 

 

-

 

 

On the day of the filming for the pilot episode, Louis is already in a foul mood. His personal stylist gave him the tightest pair of trousers on Earth to wear (“You need to look good for any future directors who might be watching!  Legs for days and, honey, your ass looks so good!") and the clouds of hairspray soaked into his hair is making him dizzy. Not to mention the fact that he ran out of Yorkshire tea and hasn’t had the time to replace it and he had to make do with low-quality chai tea.

“Oh my god,” someone gasps as he walks into the green room. Louis doesn’t like to let fame get to his head but it’s still nice to be recognised, especially when it’s by a fellow celebrity. “Hi!”

And, well, if Louis is star-struck on the inside then whatever. In front of him is none other than Niall Horan, the football legend from Ireland.

The first thing that springs up to Louis’ mouth is, “I’m sorry about your last match.”

Niall laughs, much to Louis’ relief. “No problem, mate. I don’t blame the other chap either. It was a freak accident and me knee has been dodgy me whole life anyway. Starting from that time I climbed up a tree because of me brother’s dare. Nice meeting you here though! Love your film, _Love Me Last_. That last-minute plot twist blew me away.”

Louis blushes. “The scene was written well. I am but a vessel that brings the words to life.”

“Takes a talent to do it like you do,” Niall smiles. “And that scene where you serenade the girl with ‘ _Thinking Out Loud_ ’ was phenomenal. Twisted as fuck, yes, but also foreshadowing or summat.”

“Foreshadowing, huh?” Louis smirks. “I’ve taken courses where there were entire lectures dedicated to writing devices such as foreshadows and hindsight stuff.”

“I was studying English literature before the Westmeath team scouted me fresh off the varsity team,” Niall explains with a shrug.

Louis is about to ask a (rather embarrassing fan-boy) question when the door swings open and it must be Louis’ lucky day. Harry Styles has just walked into the room and Louis is feasting his eyes on Harry’s torso as he is practically bare, hardly covered up by the see-through flowery shirt that he is wearing.

“Haz!” Niall says and runs up, wrapping all four limbs around the lanky man.

“Missed you too, Nialler,” Harry chuckles. He tilts his head down to kiss him on the top of his head and it’s definitely Louis’ lucky day. There were so many rumours surrounding the two of them ever since they met at some fashion show and Harry showed up to Niall’s following match all the way over in Ireland. Then Niall went to some of Harry’s concerts in Dublin and they were later papped coming out of a club together at arse o’clock in the morning.

This is truly a fan’s dream come true.

“Oh, hi!” Harry greets him. “Really nice to meet you. I’m a huge fan.”

“Me too,” Louis blubbers. “Eh, so I guess you liked the script as well?”

Harry beams and it’s like the angels are singing and shining their light on them, especially when Niall joins in with his smile. “I did. It sounded like one of the films that you might star in, actually.”

“You’re too nice. I’ve been more interested in writing or directing lately but I don’t reckon that the producers would take me seriously enough to let me do one.”

“Nonsense,” Niall interjects. “You’ve proven yourself over and over. Besides, there are many actors who also excel at directing and shite so I doubt you’ll be an exception to that.”

The door opens once again and shit, it’s Liam Payne. He started out as an intern or summat at Syco if the tabloids are to be believed. Now, however, he owns his own record label that rivals Simon Cowell’s and there are rumours about them collaborating on some projects that are yet to be confirmed. Louis has also heard that Liam can sing very well.

“Hello,” Liam says, all smiles and shy eyes. “Can’t believe I’m on the same show as all of you. Still don’t understand how I ended up here but it’s an honour nonetheless.”

“Pleasure’s all mine,” Louis says. “So is this everyone then?”

“Guess it is,” Niall shrugs. His hand moves to intertwine with Harry’s and it has got to be the cutest thing that Louis has seen in a while.

They chat for a while and Louis learns that everyone is as perfect as he had dreamed of them being. Befriending them is easy and by the time producers are calling them on set, they have exchanged numbers and Louis knows a bit too much about Niall and Harry’s relationship. It’s adorable, though, the way they look at each other like they are seeing the sun for the first time after being blind for their entire life.

The set is impressive, if Louis were to say a thing or two about it. The stage has been sectioned off in ‘rooms’ and in one of them, there’s a believable mannequin with makeup blood smeared around the centre of its back. The director debriefs them on the show again and hand them the script.

Louis really is looking forward to seeing how the rest of his day is going to go.

 

 

-

 

 

About an hour later, the director calls for a break. The setting is that the overall vice-president of a law firm has been found dead in his office at night. All of them have changed into the personae they picked out: Louis is a middle-aged accountant, Niall is a twenty-year old college student interning at the firm, Harry is the external vice president, and Liam is a thirty-year-old who was close to becoming the next vice president.

“That was intense!” Liam enthuses, gulping down half the water bottle in one go.

“I’ll say,” Harry joins in. “I still say that your role is the number one suspect in the current standings. Screw the alibis, he has the biggest reason as to why he would plan a murder.”

“But Louis’ character has plenty of reasons too,” Niall butts in. “He the victim always made the accountant do more than just the company’s work and he had shitty hours. Also, everyone except the accountant has gotten a raise recently and that has gotta be frustrating as hell.”

“Not as much as having to hold off kissing your cute lips anytime I feel like it,” Harry flirts and Louis swears that Niall’s eyes turn into literal hearts.

“I never realised just how enormous the set is,” Louis murmurs. The staff have gone out for the break so the only people left are the four of them. The fan rumbles above on the ceiling and other than that, the area is silent.

Louis is about to go outside to the toilets when a quiet but distinctive clicking sound rings out in the room. The doors have slammed shut and no matter how many times Louis twists the doorknobs, they refuse to budge. He even tries slamming his shoulder into it but nothing happens.

A shriek from the main stage snaps Louis’ attention to where the others are and he too, almost screams when he sees it.

There is a real person lying on the floor, covered in blood. The metallic tang in the air can’t be fake, not when it makes Louis want to throw up. Harry is clutching onto Niall’s shoulders and Niall looks like he is barely holding on as well. Liam is on the floor, and it looks like he fell back from the shock.

The person’s eyes are vacant and full of fear, as if she knew that she was about to die. Blood drips out from her lips and the crimson blot is concentrated around her stomach. It must have taken ages for her to die, if the cause of death was internal bleeding. Louis played a doctor once and he has learnt that it’s one of the worst ways to die, being stabbed in a place other than the heart.

Static sounds filter in through the speakers and Louis jumps about three feet into the air. “Hello Louis, Niall, Harry, and Liam,” a distorted voice follows. “We are going to play a little game. You see, I have made quite a mess in you pretty little set and sadly, I didn’t have the time to clean it up. If you can guess who my little accomplice was, I’ll let you go free. If you cannot guess in three tries, however, I’ll start killing you. One by one.”

“You’re bluffing!” Louis yells. He’s not sure if the speaker is two-way but it doesn’t hurt to try.

“Oh Louis,” the disembodied voice laughs. “The brave one, are you? Your sister is quite lovely too. Reckon she does your makeup for TV appearances. Very close by to me as well. Lovely eyes, just like yours.”

Chills run down Louis’ back. “Not my sister, you bitch.”

The way the guy cackles is pure evil. It has to be manipulated so that his true identity cannot be discovered; well, Louis is almost positive that the voice belongs to a male. “Try as you may, but there’s nothing you can do in a locked up set. The locks have been switched out so that your precious crew can’t get to you either. The police won’t be able to do shite once they realise that this is a form of a hostage situation.”

Liam sighs. “What do you want us to do? Play along and figure out who your friend is amongst us?”

“Bingo,” the voice replies, gleeful if Louis isn’t mistaken. “You have twenty-four hours. Lucky you, there’s a small toilet in the same room as the set. Otherwise you would have had to piss and shite in some box. Like a cat.”

Harry’s face crumples up in distaste. As soon as the speaker turns off, Harry whispers, “What if there is no accomplice? He could be saying just anything to rouse us into in-fighting. If we are not unified, it’s easier to kill us or summat.”

Niall nods, pulling Harry close to his chest. “Yeah, isn’t that how characters always die in horror films? The group get into a big spat and the one who wanders off by himself is found as a cold body in the morning or something to that effect. We need to pretend like we’re investigating each other but in reality, figure out who the real murderer is.”

Liam sighs. “I did not sign up for this. This was supposed to be scripted fun and jokes, and now we’re locked up here with a rotting body.”

Louis shakes his head. “It won’t start smelling like spoilt meat for a few hours. After that we might see more changes like rancid odour, bloating, and rigidity of skin will set in. Hopefully police will have found the culprit before we’re at that. This is bloody disgusting and I can’t believe someone has thought of a way to make this happen in real life.”

With a sigh, Niall hugs Harry closer and kisses his forehead. “As long as we’re stuck in this scene, it won’t hurt to put our brains to some use. Are there anyone who might harbour some animosity towards one of us? Or some, doesn’t matter.”

Louis shrugs. “Doubt the supporting actors or the people I’ve been rumoured to be dating have bad feelings towards me. People in the movie industry respect each other’s privacy more than what the media portrays. Maybe this is the work of a super-obsessed fan? It happens, don’t it? They love us so much so that they want to ‘keep’ us forever where they can observe us.”

“That makes sense, in a twisted and creepy way,” Harry agrees.

“We’re gonna starve to death at this rate,” Liam pouts.

Niall scratches at the back of his head. “Not really. I brought some snacks just in case the filming might go longer than expected and my knapsack should be in some corner away from the set, provided that none of the staff took it away. Or that psycho who trapped us in here.”

Louis lets out a sigh of relief. It has been a couple hours since he had lunch and he was starting to get a bit peckish.

Fortunately, Niall finds his knapsack easily enough and they sit down as far away from the body as possible to eat whatever Niall has got. It’s just some dried fruits and granola but it’s better than nothing. This is definitely better than the high-protein shite that Louis’ trainer has been shoving down his throat for the past few months for his role anyway.

“We should check out the body before it starts to decompose,” Liam whispers, like he’s afraid to say it.

They all let out a collective sigh. “I do not volunteer as tribute,” Harry mumbles, and Niall gathers him up in his arms. If Louis wasn’t locked up in a set with a dead body, he would have made a quip about keeping the PDA to a minimum at a public place but there’s priorities.

“Fine,” Louis huffs. “I’ll do it. Too bad there isn’t a first-aid kit nearby. Don’t really fancy touching corpses unless they're fake.”

After they are finished eating, Louis goes to the break room, where the real body (not the mannequin smeared with fake blood) was found. The smell of blood is still heavy in the air and Louis has to stretch the neck of his shirt to his nose to block it. The wound on her stomach is grotesque and Louis has to give himself a pep talk before he can peel the blood-soaked shirt up to examine the wound. As suspected, it’s a stab wound but the shape of it doesn’t look right. It’s almost as though something blunt was punched through her guts with massive amounts of force rather than a sharp object like a knife.

The wound is also situated on the right side of her body, which would lead most people to believe that the attacker was left-handed. The angle of the attack is from up-down, so it had to have been planned. If the attacker could manage a serious wound from the front, than the woman and the attacker must have been on speaking terms at least.

All the reasoning and story-building is giving Louis a headache. He takes a few pictures with his mobile and walks around the room, hoping to find a useful evidence. No such luck befalls him. Whilst he manages to find the woman’s purse, it only contains her mobile, makeup and some coupons so he leaves it in the room.

“So?” Niall asks, blue eyes guarded but also curious.

“Stab wound from the front and I think the attacker used a blunt weapon. And they must’ve known each other for the attacker to have approached her face-on, not sneak up from behind. Right now, our best bet is that a staff member is behind this shit.” Louis unlocks his mobile and chucks it to Niall. “Here are some pictures.”

Harry sighs. “I only agreed to this show because it meant that I could spend a lot of hours with Nialler in public without garnering too much speculation, and now we’ve got a weirdo after us. D’you reckon that he was serious about killing us one by one if we failed to point out the accomplice?”

Liam nods. “We stayed together for the most of the break and there is little chance that one of us could have sneaked away long enough to kill the poor woman. Blood would have splattered over the attacker’s clothes and all of us are wearing the same clothes that we were before. Also, none of us have the right motive to kill a random person or lock us all up.”

Niall smirks. “Me and Harry can be quite kinky sometimes but that’s neither here nor there. You’ve got good points, mate.”

“I dunno,” Louis counters. “Psychologists would say that some of the notorious serial killers ran around murdering people for the sake of it, not because they got something out of it other than a sense of joy. We can’t leave out the tiny possibility that the killer had an inside helper.”

Harry glares at him. “Paranoid much? Do you honestly think any of us have the guts to have killed someone?”

“With the right incentive or a loose screw in the head, yes,” Louis shrugs. “C’mon, you’ve seen a few horror films, yeah? It’s usually the innocent-looking ones who are the killers in the end. We’ll see how this plays out.”

Niall claps his hands once, getting everyone’s attention to swerve to him. “Okay, alibi time. Let’s piece together the puzzle and if we were together at all times, then we can cross out the inside helper theory. I’ll start. I went to the loo in the beginning of the break and then several minutes later, Harry also came in. I’ll leave out the details but it was nearly time to resume the shoot by the time we got back.”

Both of Liam and Harry’s cheeks flare up with red but Louis doesn’t miss the way Harry looks at Niall from beneath his fluttery lashes.

“Uh, I suppose I’ll go next?” Harry implores. “I didn’t go to the toilets straightaway since that would have looked too obvious. I went to the vending machine outside to get a bottle of Sprite and then once I finished about half of it, I followed Ni into the loo. Then, like Ni said, we returned to the stages.”

“Next time, maybe wait until you’re home,” Louis advises. “There was a suspicious wet spot on Harry’s shirt when he came back. Did you get something on it, perhaps?”

“Y-yeah,” Harry stammers. “I could spell it out for you but I don’t think Liam could take it.” Liam mouths a silent _‘thank you’_ at which Harry winks filthily. Niall lunges at Harry and hugs him tightly, raining kisses down his neck. There is a reason why Louis avoids hanging out with his mates who have got girlfriends or boyfriends; they are bloody annoying with their overwhelming need to showcase their love for the world to see.

“Anyway,” Louis waves his hand dismissively, “I had a chat with one of the stylists, that cute one with lush lashes and kinda shaved hair. He was fit, I’m not gonna lie, and then I went for a smoke break. By the time I got back, there was a minute or two before the shoot continued. So I was outside of the set during the time of murder, presumably.”

“Can you prove that you really went for a smoke though?” Liam questions.

Louis walks over. “Have a good sniff. You can’t smell this strongly of cigarettes unless you stood for a few minutes puffing. Believe me now? What’s your alibi then?”

“Stayed here for the most part, but I did step out for a few minutes for a phone call, what with mobiles being banned whilst on set.”

Louis taps his fingers on his arm. “None of us have a solid alibi, then. Niall and Harry could be covering for each other and the only way we can verify the other stories is to call up the staff. Which, by the way, isn’t possible since I personally am not the type to exchange numbers with staff unless they are super fit or I will be working with them for a movie over several weeks.”

“Hey,” Liam calls out. He has got Louis’ mobile in his shaking hands. “The wound is on the woman’s right side. Who is left-handed out of us?”

Niall’s face blanches. “I am, but the real killer could be too. Or someone might be ambidextrous, I dunno.”

Harry nuzzles Niall’s shoulder. “I would never think that you have what it takes to hurt someone.”

“Me too, babe.”

‘Ugh,” Louis groans. “Cut out the couple shit, guys, we have a murder to solve!”

Both of them separate with a slightly sheepish smile. The nerve! Louis would have thoroughly enjoyed berating them further but a sharp static sound that fills the set prevents it.

“Sounds like you lot are too friendly with each other to actually try,” the mysterious voice scoffs. “Harry, do you really think that you know Niall inside and out? He has picked a few fights with his opponents on the field a couple times when he was lesser known. And you are not off the hook either. You are a fucking rock star and it can’t be stress-free. Psychology says that stress puts people more at risk for acting out of the societal norm, like going on a meaningless murder spree. As for Liam, well, he’s a teddy bear in human form but sociopaths can look completely average on the outside, not that your gorgeous face is anything as mundane as average.”

“Feck off,’ Niall huffs. “Why should we believe a word that comes out of your mouth? You can’t pit us against each other and think that you can manipulate us into doubting and betraying one another. For all that big talk, you haven’t done much outside of killing that woman.”

Louis swears that he feels the studio air chill. If the killer has access to a PA system, it isn’t that far of a stretch to think that he can get into the temperature control room. Louis isn’t familiar with the studio but he knows the generic layout of a typical studio.

“I’m going to make you wish that you had never said that.” And with those final words, the PA clicks off, leaving them in utter silence.

“Fucker,” Niall mutters. “He is trying to drive us apart with empty words. You don’t believe a word he says, do you?” Niall turns his big blue eyes to Harry’s.

“Of course not,” Harry kisses him chastely on the lips. “We’ll get out of here no matter what.”

Liam reaches into Niall’s knapsack and takes out a chocolate bar. Niall’s eyes narrow as if he wants to protest but he’s too distracted by Harry’s hand in his hair. Louis has the strongest urge to either ask them to put a lid on it or take a picture.

The dilemma is short-lived as horrid, choking noises fill the air. Liam is on his knees, retching hard and the chocolate is lying abandoned on the floor. His face is going blue and Louis knows that he has to think and act fast. He speeds up to where Liam is and he shoves his hand into Liam’s mouth and triggers his gag reflex, withdrawing his hand in another heartbeat. Louis grimaces as he watches Liam throw up whatever he’s eaten in the past several hours.

“Poisoned chocolate,” Louis concludes.

“The fucker’s been into my food stash?” Niall rages. “This is getting real serious. Liam, you alright mate?”

Liam nods weakly, and Harry wearily approaches the knapsack and pulls out a water bottle. “We’ve been drinking from this all day so it should be fine, yeah?”

Louis shrugs. “This just confirms that the true murderer must be a staff member. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have the excuse to come on the sets or be near us.”

“This is getting too complicated,” Harry pouts and Niall pats his pretty curls. Harry burrows into Niall’s side like a cat would and Louis is already confirmed that the two of them must have the cutest domestic life together.

“Yuck,” the speaker creaks on again and Louis swears that he sees Niall bristle with anger. “I suppose as long as you two are going to be all gross and in-love with each other, you might as well give us a show. C’mon, maybe something that involves less clothes and more touching?”

Louis sees the couple in question blush fiercely, Liam even more so.

“You sick fuck, we are not going to give in to your demands blindly,” Harry snaps.

“Oh?” the voice retorts. “Shall we wait until another person is poisoned then? Keep in mind, it’s not just a simple drug that tightens your bronchus or increases mucous in your throat. I have a variety of other methods to make you submit and I doubt you’ll be eager to test them out after a few.”

Niall is hesitant, but he does slide his hand up under Harry’s shirt. Harry practically melts into the touch and a soft moan spills out past his lips. Niall captures it all with his lips and Louis feels uncomfortable just sitting there, sort of forced to watch the show that Niall and Harry are putting on under threat. He stands up go sneak away to a different set but the PA comes on again.

“Where you think you’re going baby?” the person purrs. “No one is allowed to leave until I deem it appropriate.”

Louis curses and plops back down. Harry’s shirt is halfway off and Niall is shirtless already. Both of them have fit bodies and under normal circumstance, Louis would be blatantly flirting with them or drooling from afar. This is a sick and twisted and he wishes that he hadn’t signed onto the show.

His brain winds back to the times when the killer spoke to them. It’s tricky to make out through the voice-distorting program but he definitely had a thick Yorkshire accent. He sounds male but it could very well be manipulated to confuse them. Louis tries to go through the staff members he has either talked to or met. There is that one face that is eluding his memory and it’s fucking frustrating.

“Okay, this has gotta stop,” Liam blurts out when Niall’s hand is creeping down the back of Harry’s trousers. “Come talk to us out in the open, coward.”

The murderer scoffs. “You think that I’ll be drawn out by obvious tactics? Only petty criminals with shallow intents get infuriated by such measures. Unless you can correctly name me, or at least provide enough descriptions to hand me over to the coppers, you’re stuck in there.”

“You’re from Yorkshire, aren’t ya?” Louis ventures.

“Oh,” Louis thinks the voice sounds impressed. “A pretty face with an actual working brain, that’s exciting. It’s always a fucking disappointment when a pretty boy is just a pretty face and nothing more. Well, I guess if he’s a good shag then there isn’t much to lose. Kinda like Harry over here.”

“Don’t fucking talk about Harry like that!” Niall growls. “You are nothing more than a murdering low-life who has no right to judge others!”

“Sure, sure,” he dismisses. “Are you still struggling to put your brain to some use or have you given up.”

A lightbulb blinks on inside of Louis’ head. “You’re on the styling team, yeah? Shaved hair with the lashes. It’s gotta be you since I haven’t talked to any other Yorkshire lad on set.”

There is a beat of silence. All the lights blink out simultaneously and a slow applaud flows out of the speakers. The sound peters out but it’s soon followed by the echoing claps on the stage.

“Took you long enough,” the man in question smirks. His is lit by a single spotlight, and it’s cloaking him in a silhouette. “I thought you’d never figure it out. Name’s Zayn, by the way, if you were wondering. I knew you were checking me out earlier during the break, Louis. But you must have wondered how I got around so quickly. I’ll let you in on the secret. To facilitate the placement of props and heavy filming equipment, his studio is full of hidden tunnels in-between walls that only staff members can access. The woman struggled beautifully but she was easy to kill nonetheless. You wouldn’t believe how liberating it is to watch the light fade out from someone’s eyes as they die.”

“Why?” Harry asks, his voice trembling.

“It takes extreme conditions to look inside a human’s heart,” is Zayn’s reply. “I just wanted to see if you were all truly worthy of my affection, shall we say.”

“Well you can fuck off with your so-called affections,” Louis snarls. “You won’t be able to commit any more atrocities once you’re locked up behind bars where you belong.”

The lights switch and this time, Zayn’s smiling face is in clear view. “I don’t think so.”

They are plunged into darkness once again and Louis feels himself being shoved down to the ground. Something cold and sharp drives into his stomach and Louis’ eyes widen. That had to have been a fucking knife. Warm breaths face over his face and a pair of plump lips press to his for a brief second.

“Goodnight, Louis.” The weight disappears from his hips and the sound of footsteps pound away from him.

Louis presses his hand to his stomach and it’s hot and sticky. It’s bright now, and there are faces floating above him; trying to tell apart which belongs to who is such a chore.

The blackness creeps into his vision and he doesn’t even fight to cling onto his consciousness.

 

 

-

 

 

Incessant beeping rings in Louis ear and he swipes his hand at the general direction of it. Except, nothing changes and his mind is hyper-focused on the throbbing pain in his abdomen.

“Great, he’s awake!” a cheerful voice announces.

Even though Louis’ eyes feel like lead, he struggles to open them and finds himself looking up to a bland ceiling that could use some painting. Next to him, there are three guys and he slowly realises that they are Niall, Harry, and Liam. Harry’s eyes are red and swollen as if he’s been crying.

“Mornin’,” Louis mumbles. He sees that there is a heart monitor over Harry’s shoulder. That’s one mystery solved then. “What happened to _Suspect_? We aren’t quite done with the first episode, yeah?”

“Idiot,” Niall laughs, but Louis can see wetness in his eyes as well. “You got stabbed by a lunatic, remember? He left the set doors open so the other staff members managed to get in on time. Luckily, we were good with the timing and saved your arse. Another two minutes and you might have been a goner. Which really would have been unfortunate because we quite enjoy having you around.”

The memories keep trickling back. Zayn’s face, the knife, the dead woman . . . .

“What happened to Zayn?” Louis asks.

Everyone fidgets and Liam is the first one to break the silence. “They never found his whereabouts. He left all of his belongings behind and the identification he had with him turned out to be all counterfeit. The police are going to have a tough time digging deep enough to discover his true identity now. But the good news is that we have a brand-new filming location and a beefed-up security.”

Louis sighs, propping his head on his hand. “I hate with when they bring in security. Reminds me that I’m a proper celebrity and I don’t like feeling like I’m something to gawk and point fingers at. Like that popular boy band these days.”

Niall smiles. “Safety first, Lou. We were really worried, y’know. Don’t you dare leave us anytime soon.”

Louis smiles back. “I’ll try my best.”

“Great,” Harry throws his arms around Louis, carefully crushing him into a hug. “They pushed back the premiere of our show since you aren’t allowed to work for the next two weeks. The good news is that we will never leave you alone, not for one second.”

“I did always want a brother,” Louis jokes. “Looks like I got more than I wished for.”

“Aww,” Liam grins. “Group hug.”

Liam sort of sweeps Niall in as well and they result in a tangle of arms and boys as they stay in the warmth of the hug for a few minutes. They only break apart when a nurse comes in to check on Louis’ vitals.

Yeah. Louis could definitely get used to this. This is the part of his new life that he enjoys, minus some murders and grave wounds.

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I didn’t tag Zayn because that would’ve been a massive spoiler. Muahahahahaha! I might've made him the killer because I was still mad at him for leaving 1D. (But also proud of him in a sense because he's doing what makes him happy)
> 
> Also, I’m taking a bit of break from angst so that I can recharge for the finale of [Don’t Wanna Hurt Anymore ](http://archiveofourown.org/series/211088) heehee.


End file.
